[sheil0223]

the computer just freezes randomly while using any application ( games, surfing , media etc).

there is no error messages.

and when i reboot my PC after it hangs, sometimes it already freezes on the start-up with a blue screen..

my OS is WinXP sp2.. processor p4..

this just happened after my husband reformatted our pc due to some viruses..

help will be much apreciated.

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Hi sheil0223, welcome back.

How does it behave if you boot to Safe Mode? If better then something is starting at boot that is causing the problem. Try the following:

Boot to Safe Mode.
Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and disable everything except your Anti-virus and Firewall (yes, everything else!).
Do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.

If no, boot to Safe Mode again, click on the Services tab. Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box then click the Disable All button.
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.

[Ztruker]

Hi sheil0223, welcome back.

How does it behave if you boot to Safe Mode? If better then something is starting at boot that is causing the problem. Try the following:

Boot to Safe Mode.
Click on Start then Run, type msconfig and press Enter.
Click on the Startup tab and disable everything except your Anti-virus and Firewall (yes, everything else!).
Do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable several items at a time till you find the culprit.

If no, boot to Safe Mode again, click on the Services tab. Check the Hide All Microsoft Services box then click the Disable All button.
Again, do a regular boot, see if it runs normal.
If yes then use msconfig to enable services till you find the culprit.

Once you've found the culprit, uninstall it or find out how to eliminate it from your system. Simply disabling it in msconfig is a temporary fix at best.

[sheil0223]

ok, il try dis then il get back at you.. thank you so much

and i can do your instructions early in the morning, since the computer that freezes is my server, server of my cafe..
if i only use/open the Cafe management (Tinasoft Easycafe) it wont freeze..

sorry if i just replied, so many work to do...

and more info:

when the PC haven't been use for hours or been shut down for some time... sometimes it will not freeze for a long time.. yesterday my husband just cleaned the whole CPU, the video card the motherboard, the fan of the processor. then i did the scanning on the Hard drive for bad sectors, yes, i got some bad sectors and repaired it.. (Salvation scan and repair).. when we turned the PC again, it didn't freeze for a longggg time, so we taught it was ok now, but then again, it appears when my husband try to convert a audio file with a audio converter..

Edited by sheil0223, 01 April 2008 - 09:48 PM.

[sheil0223]

everything seems to be ok at boot, after i've done everything you told me to do..

i guess the problem is not at booting..

the freeze on booting just follows whenever it hangs after i use 2 or more application at a time, or whenever i explore the PC it also hangs.

help..


thnx

if you may actually need this:

Attached Files

•  HiJackThis_log.txt   6.16KB   288 downloads

Edited by RatHat, 08 April 2008 - 08:41 PM.
HijackThis log removed

[Mr Freeze]

your hijackthis log should be in the malware forum

But you could check to see if your video drivers are up to date
To do this >>From your Press START MENU BUTTON Click on RUN Type this in devmgmt.msc Click ok Right click on the + on DISPLAY right click on your Display Driver Choose UPDATE DRIVER Yes this time only Press NEXT Install software atuomatically(recommended)>>it will begin to look for any updated drivers for your video drivers and install them if any are found you will be prompt to restart your computer

Perform the next three steps

you can do some simple things here

1- Download ATF CLEANER >>Install it and run it

Download it from here>> http://www.atribune....c...5&Itemid=25

2- Defragment your harddrive press the start Button on your left buttom of your screen
Click on ALL PROGRAMS >>move cursor to ACCESSORIES>>SYSTEM TOOLS>>Click On DISK DEFRAGMENTER>>Just press DEFRAGMENT>>this may take awhile depending on your harddrive so be patient and let it finish

3-Run a CHECK DISK start Button on your left buttom of your screen Click on RUN>> In the small window Type this in chkdsk /r Click ok>>on the command window you see a flashing white bar Type Y for yes Press ENTER on your keyboard >>>>You will get a warning saying check disk cannot run ...another volume is using it.... Do you wish to schedule it....Just RESTART your computer.....

NOTE When you type chkdsk /r >>there a space between the k and the /
At the restart of your computer CHECK DISK will run...Again this will take about 1 1/2 to 2 hours to reach desktop
so DO NOT DISTURB this...Once its complete your computer will restart to normal windows

Doing these three steps without any issues with your computer it should increase performance
Another concern for having a slow performance is your RAMTo determine how much RAM you have installed you can find out by checking your SYSTEM PROPERTIES To do this just >>>PRESS THE WINDOWS KEY on your keyboard and PRESS PAUSE/BREAK KEY
WINDOWS KEY is between your CTRL and ALT>>>>>PAUSE/BREAK is on the upper right above the NUM LOCK KEY
Your SYSTEM PROPERTIES will pop-up on that window look for any of these possible numbers that match your RAM 128MB>>256MB>> 512MB>>1.0GB or 1024MB.....
Other possibilities of slow computer is Not needed Programs running in the background >>>>malware
But start with the three steps first

And heres a download UPHCLEAN thats forces the registry to close when some applications or programs fail to close
its from microsoft and is safe...i have it install in all my computers....its a small software but efficient
Windows Vista has this built into its operating system...So the downloads are for windows 2000 and xp
http://www.microsoft...;displaylang=en

Edited by Mr Freeze, 02 April 2008 - 04:40 PM.

[happyrock]

Bad computer memory is one of the three main reasons for random system failures.. the other two are heat (usually caused by fans or heatsinks being blocked with dust) or power issues...
first...

lets make sure its not your memory going bad...get memtest + here....
the lowdown is here..

if you have a floppy drive you can get the 6th one down ...set the bios to boot from the floppy drive A: first...then the cd drive then the Hard drive C:
or you can get the 2nd one down and burn the ISO file to a cd and then boot it from the cd drive...let memtest run for at least 2 hours...if it starts showing any errors during that time then you will have to replace the RAM...no errors after 2 hours just press Esc to end the tests and we will try some other tests

go here and get everest home...install and launch it...click the + by computer...click on sensor...get a screenshot and post it so I can check your temps and voltages...

NOTE...if you have any problems running memtest... Windows Memory Diagnostic would run the tests....you can get it here..

Edited by happyrck, 02 April 2008 - 06:01 PM.

[sheil0223]

thnx for all the replies, will do this after all the customers are out.. then i'l get back at you

[sheil0223]

@mr freeze

1. upgrade results: cannot continue the hardware update wizard..

2. defragmenting : check

3. check disk : check

4. uphclean : installed

@happyrck

memtest : pass completed; no errors

Everest :


the freeze/hang-up situation remains

i have a strong feeling it's the processor, we have a big fan placed for the CPU, and whenever the fun is off, its more likely that the hang-up occur often and early. we have checked the fan of the processor and even cleaned it, and it's running OK.. or so it might be the video card, or the registry im going crazy

i really appreciate your effort in helping me ^__^

and after doing every suggestion, my husband tried to test the PC, he had played Zuma alone.. Zuma is the only that's running, then after few minutes, it hang-up/freezes again..

Edited by sheil0223, 05 April 2008 - 12:08 AM.

[John Hook]

sheil0223,

I realize that you've tried LOTS of things to troubleshoot/resolve the problem with your PC randomly freezing or locking up - all of which seems to have turned up nothing wrong.

I've experienced this problem myself in the past and found it tied to one of the following issues:

1) Questionable or Buggy Video Drivers

2) Windows XP Video Hardware Acceleration settings set TOO HIGH

3) Motherboard BIOS settings (shadowing, acceleration, cache, etc.) configured too aggressively

4) Chipset programs such as Intel® Application Accelerator causing hard disk corruption

5) Overclocking or timing/voltage settings that are NON-STANDARD for the processor installed in the mother board.

My guess is that the problem you're having is NOT due to faulty memory, but rather, one or a combination of the above issues creating instability on your Windows XP installation.

If you reply and let me know the make/model of your motherboard, video hardware as well as any other drivers/programs you have installed - I might be able to assist you in make your system more stable - less prone to randome "crashing".

- Regards,

- John Hook

[wannabe1]

There are suspicious entries in the HJT log. I think a good next step would be to have the machine checked by the malware experts.

Please go to the Malware Forum and follow the instructions you'll find there.

That will give you several steps that will help you clean up 70 percent of all problems by yourself. If at the end of the process you are still having difficulty--and you may not be-- post a hijackthis log in THAT forum. Do Not reply to or "bump" your own topic...if it shows a reply, it may be overlooked as one that is being worked on.

If you are still having problems after getting a clean bill of health from the malware expert, please return to this thread.

wannabe1

[sheil0223]

@John Hook

I would be more glad to give it to you..

Motherboard : Asus P4V8000 - X

Video Card : Palit Nvidia GeForce 7300GS PCI-E

Hard Drive : Maxtor 80gb

CD WR : Enlight 52x32x52x

Processor: P4 2.26 Ghz

Programs: Tinasoft Easycafe, Nokia PC Suite, HP Solution Center, Nero 7, MS Office 2007, Daemon Tools, Limewire
Winamp, Blue Soleil, Adobe Photoshop, and some Video and Audio Editors & Converters and more

Antivirus : Eset Nod32 Business Edition
Ccleaner, Everest Home Edition

I'm using this PC for Lay-outing, editing, converting, USB transfers, MP3 downloading

@wannabe1

OK sir, i'l do it after the customers are out..

Edited by sheil0223, 05 April 2008 - 09:27 PM.

[Ztruker]

If this is a business computer, why are you running a virus magnet like Limewire? It is quite probable that is where the malware you had before, and the problems you are having now, are originating from.

I've also seen some reports where Daemon Tools can cause some computer problems. The Malware folks will help for sure.

[John Hook]

sheil0223,

I would try turning down the video hardware acceleration settings in Windows (try turning down one notch at a time) to see if this stops the random "freezing" or "crashing" you're experiencing. To do so, right-click on your Windows XP Desktop, click on Properties, then click on the "Settings" tab at the top, click on the "Advanced" button and change the hardware acceleration settings on the "Troubleshoot" tab. You will need to restart you PC after you change (turn down) this setting.

If turning the video hardware acceleration causes your machine to stop randomly rebooting - you may have some questionable video drivers installed for your Palit Nvidia GeForce 7300GS PCI-E and/OR there are memory timing, cache or video-specific BIOS settings that are not compatible with your video hardware.

First, start by trying the cranking down of those hardware acceleration settings - then we can take it from there.

- John Hook

[Ztruker]

John, nice tip. I didn't even know that ability was there, many thanks for the info. I'll add it to my storehouse of tips.

[John Hook]

Ztruker

It's been my experience that such random lockups, freezes and/or reboots - WITHOUT any STOP errors are almost ALWAYS the result of buggy video driver AND/OR video hardware acceleration settings set too high (provided the system is NOT overclocked). Overclocking CAN/WILL cause these problems - so if you're having these problems, FIRST disable overclocking. If the system is NOT overclocked, I've found that either dialing-down the Hardware Acceleration settings in the Display Properties and/or downgrading or replacing the video drivers usually fixes these random lockups/reboots.

I generally use high-end ATI video cards in the systems I build and I've seen this problem over-and-over again after implementing new ATI drivers with the Hardware Acelleration cranked up. While MFG issued video drivers tend to offer the best performance - the built-in Windows drivers tend to offer the most stability. This problem is NOT new with XP - it's been around since Windows 9X.

I'll be interested to see if sheil0223's problem is resolved by either dialing-down or disabling XP's Video Hardware Acceleration settings.

- John Hook